E-mail handling method and portable telephone and portable telephone using said handling method

ABSTRACT

A “mail” icon is selected (step  51 ). The e-mail processing is activated and the e-mail screen is displayed (step  52 ). Next, whether e-mail processing is selected or not is determined (step  53 ). If selected, the “e-mail list” is displayed (step  54 ). An e-mail is selected and the corresponding body of the e-mail is displayed on the first screen (step  55 ).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENITON

The present invention relates to an e-mail handling method in a portabletelephone set having the non-voice information communications mode (forexample information mode so called as i-mode) feature and adapted todisplay the body of an e-mail on a first screen when an incoming e-mailis downloaded. The non-voice information communications mode is theoperation mode for the online data service using digital portabletelephone sets, in that a service to connect to sites (contents)registered in a center, an internet connection service, a messageservice, and e-mail service are available.

Conventionally, a received e-mail is usually displayed starting with theheader section on a first screen, and the body of the e-mail is notnecessarily displayed on the first screen, in a portable telephone set(portable telephone set having the non-voice information communicationsmode) where an icon selected on an icon screen is scaled up on a displayand operation of a selected icon is executed via operation of aselection key. This mechanism is not favored by users who wish to readthe body of an e-mail as soon as possible.

The invention, proposed to solve such a problem, aims at providing ane-mail handling method in a portable telephone set whereby only the bodyof an e-mail is displayed on a display screen when a received e-mail isdownloaded, and a portable telephone set using the e-mail handlingmethod.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The first aspect of the invention is an e-mail handling method in aportable telephone set, in that only the body of an e-mail is displayedon the display screen when the user activates the e-mail operation modein a portable telephone set having the e-mail function to display a listof e-mails and instructs reading of a specific e-mail in the e-maillist. This configuration supports the user's needs to read the body ofan e-mail as soon as possible.

The second aspect of the invention is an e-mail handling method in aportable telephone set, characterized in that the body of an e-mail isdisplayed on a first screen when an e-mail list is displayed and readingof e-mails is instructed, in case a selected icon is an e-mail icon in aportable telephone set where selected operation on the screen related toicons is executed. This configuration supports the user's needs to readthe body of an e-mail as soon as possible.

The third aspect of the invention is an e-mail handling method in aportable telephone set, in addition to the first or second aspect of theinvention, in that a header section other than the body of the e-mailcan be displayed by operating up or down scroll keys in case only thebody of the e-mail is displayed. This configuration supports the user'sneeds to read the body of an e-mail as soon as possible and allows theuser to check the header section at any time.

The fourth aspect of the invention is an e-mail handling method in aportable telephone set, in that a boundary line is inserted at theboundary of the body of the e-mail and the header section in order tospecify the boundary of the body of the e-mail and the header section.This configuration allows the user to check the boundary of the body ofthe e-mail and the header section in a simple fashion.

The fifth aspect of the invention is an e-mail handling method in aportable telephone set, in addition to first or second aspect of theinvention, in that an e-mail address or a telephone number and a titleor part of a title are displayed. This configuration allows the user tocheck bibliographical items other than the body of an e-mail via ane-mail list.

The sixth aspect of the invention is an e-mail handling method in aportable telephone set, in that only a name is displayed in case thetelephone number matches a telephone number registered in a telephonedirectory and the name is registered in the telephone directory. Thisconfiguration allows the user to check the sender's name in case thetelephone number matches a telephone number registered in a telephonedirectory and the name is registered in the telephone directory.

The seventh aspect of the invention is portable telephone set that usesan e-mail handling method in a portable telephone set according to anyone of claims 1 through 6 to read e-mails. This configuration supportsthe user's needs to read the body of an e-mail as soon as possible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a configuration of a portable telephoneset according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a circuit block for realizing the portable telephone set inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows an example of an icon screen displayed on the display ofthe portable telephone set in FIG. 1 in the call incoming wait state;

FIG. 4 shows a transition of the display screen of a portable telephoneset to describe the embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart explaining the operation to display only the bodyof an e-mail on the first screen.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the invention will be described referring to FIGS. 1through 5.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of portabletelephone set equipped with the non-voice information communicationsmode (for example i-mode) feature according to the embodiment of theinvention. In FIG. 1, the portable telephone set according to theembodiment of the invention comprises an antenna 1, a calltermination/charge lamp 2, a receiver 3, an LCD display 4, a left softkey 5 also serving as a telephone directory button, a call start button6, a ten-digit keypad or dial keys 7, a warp key 8 for warping to thenon-voice information communications operation mode, a transmitter 9, anexternal connection terminal 10, a voice/manner key 11, a power/end/holdkey 12, aright soft key 13 also serving as a redial/clear button, anavigation key 14 for scrolling through the display in four directions(up, down, right and left) and determining the target display bypressing the center button, an earphone microphone terminal 15, and aninfrared communications port 16.

FIG. 2 shows a circuit block for realizing a portable telephone set ofthe aforementioned configuration. In FIG. 2, the portable telephone setreceives radio waves via the antenna 1 at a receiver (not shown) in aradio communications section 18. Received information is transmitted toa controller 20. The controller 20 displays the received informationsuch as the received telephone number on the display such as an LCD. Thecontroller 20 converts the received information to voice information andoutputs in voice via a speaker (receiver) 3 of the receiver section. Atransmitter (microphone) 9 receives the user's voice and transmits thevoice to the controller 20, which transmits the voice information to thedistant party via radio communications by way of a transmitter (notshown) in the radio communications section 18 and the antenna 1.

The controller 20 stores voice information such as speech contentsduring conversation in a memory 26 or reads information therefrom. Aten-digit keypad operation section 22 inputs dial signals to thecontroller 20 via operation of the ten-digit keypad 7. A function keyoperation section 24 inputs operation of a function key, such asoperation of the navigation key 14 to the controller 20.

Received e-mail information reaches the controller 20 via the antenna 1and the radio communications section 18, then stored into the memory 26.When the controller 20 activates the e-mail operation mode and displaysa list of e-mails then instructs reading of a specific e-mail in thelist, only the body of the e-mail appears on the display 4. An infraredinput/output section 28 transmits/receives infrared signals via theinfrared communications port 16. These circuit blocks are housed in thecabinet in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows an example of an icon screen displayed in the call incomingwait state. In this example, the icon screen is displayed in the shapethe icon screen is displayed in a cross. From top to down in clockwisedirection, an i-mode main icon, an i-mode mail icon, a telephonedirectory icon, a screen icon, and a menu icon in the center arerespectively displayed. A selected icon screen is displayed in ascaled-up image to indicate which icon screen is currently selected.

FIGS. 4A to 4D show a transition of the display screen of a portabletelephone set to describe the embodiment of the invention. In theportable telephone set according to this embodiment, an icon selected onan icon screen displayed as shown in FIG. 4A, that is, the “mail” iconis displayed in a scaled-up image. In this state, operation of thecenter key of the navigation key 14 enters the e-mail processingoperation and displays the e-mail processing screen.

When the “list of received e-mails” is selected while the e-mail screenis displayed, the “list of received e-mails” is displayed as shown inFIG. 4B. In the “list of received e-mails” display, a list of receivede-mails, whether open or unopen, is displayed. In this e-mail listdisplay, an e-mail address, a telephone number and a name are displayedn the screen. Together with this, the title or part of the title of ahighlighted received e-mail is displayed.

In FIG. 4B, the title of a highlighted received e-mail is displayed inthe title area of the e-mail. Also the received e-mail number and dateof reception are also displayed. In case the title is long, part of thetitle is displayed. On the left side of the area showing the list ofreceived e-mails appear illustrations to show open e-mails and unopene-mails (that is, icon of an open or unopen envelope).

In case the telephone number of the sender of an e-mail matches atelephone number in the telephone directory, and the name is registeredin the telephone directory, the name is displayed as a first precedence.

When the user sees the list of received e-mails in FIG. 4B and selectsthe fourth unopened e-mail from the top, the first screen looks likeFIG. 4C and only the corresponding body of the e-mail is displayed onthe screen. To display the previous or next screen, the user pressesupward or downward scroll key section of the navigation key 14.

FIG. 4D shows an example where the previous screen of FIG. 4C isdisplayed. Received e-mails are arranged in the order of date ofreception, the sender's name, the title of the e-mail, and the body ofthe e-mail. The body of the e-mail is displayed below a row comprisingan open envelope mark and a broken line.

In order to display only the body of an e-mail on the first screen inFIG. 4C, the user easily edits and displays the area below the brokenline via for example e-mil browser software, since the broken linespecifies the boundary of the header section and the body of the e-mail,as understood from the arrangement of the aforementioned receivede-mails.

While the foregoing description has illustrated exclusively theprocessing of received e-mails, processing on outgoing e-mails is alsowithin the scope of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart explaining the operation to display only the bodyof an e-mail on the first screen.

In FIG. 5, a “mail” icon is selected (step 51). By doing so, for examplean e-mail browser control program operates, activating the e-mailprocessing as well as displaying the e-mail screen (step 52). Next,whether e-mail processing is selected or not is determined (step 53). Ifselected, the “e-mail list” is displayed (step 54). An e-mail isselected and the corresponding body of the e-mail is displayed on thefirst screen (step 55).

As mentioned earlier, the first aspect of the invention is an e-mailhandling method in a portable telephone set, in that only the body of ane-mail is displayed on the display screen when the user activates thee-mail operation mode in a portable telephone set having the e-mailfeature to display a list of e-mails and instructs reading of a specifice-mail in the e-mail list. This configuration has an advantage that itsupports the user's needs to read the body of an e-mail as soon aspossible.

The second aspect of the invention is an e-mail handling method in aportable telephone set, in that only the body of an e-mail is displayedon a first screen when an e-mail list is displayed and reading ofe-mails is instructed, in case a selected icon is an e-mail icon in aportable telephone set where selected operation on the screen related toicons is executed. This configuration has an advantage that it supportsthe user's needs to read the body of an e-mail as soon as possible.

The third aspect of the invention is an e-mail handling method in aportable telephone set, in addition to the first or second aspect of theinvention, in that a header section other than the body of the e-mailcan be displayed by operating up or down scroll keys in case only thebody of the e-mail is displayed. This configuration has advantages thatit supports the user's needs to read the body of an e-mail as soon aspossible and allows the user to check the header section at any time.

The fourth aspect of the invention is an e-mail handling method in aportable telephone set, in that a boundary line is inserted at theboundary of the body of the e-mail and the header section in order tospecify the boundary of the body of the e-mail and the header section.This configuration has an advantage that it allows the user to check theboundary of the body of the and the header section in a simple fashion.

The fifth aspect of the invention is an e-mail handling method in aportable telephone set, in addition to the first or second aspect of theinvention, in that an e-mail address or a telephone number and a titleor part of a title are displayed. This configuration has an advantagethat it allows the user to check bibliographical items other than thebody of an e-mail via an e-mail list.

The sixth aspect of the invention is an e-mail handling method in aportable telephone set, in that only a name is displayed in case thetelephone number matches a telephone number registered in a telephonedirectory and the name is registered in the telephone directory.

The seventh aspect of the invention is portable telephone set that usesan e-mail handling method in a portable telephone set according to anyone of the first through sixth aspects of the invention to read e-mails.

1. An e-mail handling method in a portable telephone set, comprising thesteps of: activating an e-mail operation mode in a portable telephoneset having the e-mail function; displaying a list of e-mails which hasbeen received on a display screen of the portable telephone set;selecting a specific e-mail in the e-mail list to be displayed; anddisplaying only a content of the specified e-mail on the display screen,wherein the content of the e-mail does not include a header section ofthe e-mail.
 2. An e-mail handling method in a portable telephone setaccording to claim 1, wherein the header section other than said contentof the e-mail can be displayed by operating up or down scroll keys incase only said body of the e-mail is displayed.
 3. An e-mail handlingmethod in a portable telephone set according to claim 2, wherein aboundary line is inserted at the boundary of said content of the e-mailand said header section in order to specify the boundary of said contentof the e-mail and said header section.
 4. An e-mail handling method in aportable telephone set according to claim 1, wherein a combination of ane-mail address or a telephone number, and a title or part of a title isdisplayed.
 5. An e-mail handling method in a portable telephone setaccording to claim 4, wherein only a name is displayed in case saidtelephone number matches a telephone number registered in a telephonedirectory and said name is registered in said telephone directory.
 6. Aportable telephone set comprising: a control unit that activates ane-mail operation mode; a display unit that displays a list of e-mailswhich has been received; a select unit that selects a specific e-mail inthe e-mail list to be displayed; wherein said display unit displays onlya content of the specified e-mail, and said content of the e-mail doesnot include a header section of the e-mail.
 7. A portable telephone setaccording to claim 6, wherein said display unit displays the headersection other than said content of the e-mail by operating up or downscroll keys in case only said body of the e-mail is displayed.
 8. Aportable telephone set according to claim 7, wherein said display unitdisplays a boundary line which is inserted at the boundary of saidcontent of the e-mail and said header section in order to specify theboundary of said content of the e-mail and said header section.
 9. Aportable telephone set according to claim 6, wherein said display unitdisplays a combination of an e-mail address or a telephone number, and atitle or part of a title.
 10. A portable telephone set according toclaim 9, wherein said display unit displays only a name in case saidtelephone number matches a telephone number registered in a telephonedirectory and said name is registered in said telephone directory.